Machine for manufacturing hair combs from metal wire



June 4, 1963 SABURO TSURUMOTO 3,092,151

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING HAIR COMBS FROM METAL WIRE Filed Feb. 23, 19607 Sheets-Sheet 1 7 SABURO Ts UR UMOTO 28 INVENTOR.

BY h/MM, M

ATTDRNE rs June 4, 1963 SABURO TSURUMOTO 3,092,151

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING HAIR-COMBS FROM METAL WIRE Filed Feb. 25, 1960'7 Sheets-Sheet 2 .a* o H. 3 J2? w o 5 6 Q 14 0 1 SABURO 1 w o BuRuMoTo.INVENTOR. BYWm,mu/M

,47ToRwEvs MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING HAIR COMES FROM METAL WIRE FiledFeb. 25, 1960 SABURO TSURU MOTO June 4, 1963 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 SABUROTsuRumoro INVENTOR. BY h/MM, M ii Arm/vars June 4, 1963 SABURO TSURUMOTO3,09

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING HAIR COMBS FROM METAL WIRE Filed Feb. 23, 19607 Sheets-Sheet 4 5A BURO Ts URUMOTO IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEYS June 4, 1963 SABURO TSURUMOTO 3,

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING HAIR COMBS FROM METAL WIRE Filed Feb. 23, 1960'7 Sheets-Sheet 5 E a. Z!

SABURU TSURUMOTO I N VEN TOR.

BY WWW ,4 TTORNE ys J1me 1963 SABURO TSURUMOTO 3,

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING HAIR COMBS FROM METAL WIRE Filed Feb. 23, 1960'7 Sheets-Sheet 6 SABURO TsuRuMoTo INVENTOR.

BY M,MJM

Arm/vars June 4, 1963 SABURO TSURUMOTO 3,092,151

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING HAIR COMBS FROM METAL WIRE Filed Feb. 25, 19607 Sheets-Sheet 7 Fig. 17

SABURO Ts URUMOTO INVENTOR.

yh/[ M ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,092,151 MACHINE FORMANUFACTURING HAIR COMES FROM METAL WIRE Saburo Tsurumoto, 232Kashima-cho,

Higashiyodogawa-ku, Osaka City, Japan Filed Feb. 23, 1960, Ser. No.10,421 Claims priority, application Japan Oct. 10, 1959 6 Claims. (Cl.140-71) This invention relates to a machine for manufacturing hair combsfrom metal wire, in which a comb is formed by repeatedly bending a longmetal wire at a definite interval into the teeth of a comb, each one ofthe teeth comprising an oval-shaped head and a foot composed of twoclosely spaced parallel wires. This kind of comb is principally used asa accessory and the like. Since this type of comb is elaborate in itsshape, requiring a complicated bending process, they have beenmanufactured for the most part by a manual operation and the labor costbears a high ratio to the total cost of the merchandised combs. It isthereiore an important o ject to the present invention to manufacturethe said metal wire combs automatically and at high speed.

Namely, the machine of this invention consists of an apparatus forbending a long material wire into the desired form, and the apparatusfor shaping the said bent wire into a comb. This latter shapingapparatus consists of a work table on which shaping pins and supportingpins are provided in proper positions respectively, and on one side ofthe work table, a head shaping pincer supporting member is positionedclose to the said table, and on the other side of the work table, a footshaping pincer supporting member is installed. Either of these twosupporting members or the work table are constructed so as to moveforwards and backwards. On the head shaping pincer supporting member andthe foot shaping pincer supporting member are parallel shaping pincers,Which shape the raw material wire into the heads and feet of comb teeth.These'shaping pincers are Provided with a device which can push out theshaping pincers so that they can "advance toward the work table at therequired moment. These shaping pincers are designed to close theirpincers and pinch the metal wire into the form of heads and feet ofcombs. In this manner, the shaping pincers are made to advance forwardstoward the work table, and shape the zigzaged raw material wire into thehead and foot, so as to automatically manufacture metal wire combs of aregular shape. In the machine of the present invention, pins for saidshaping and supporting can either be fixed-1y mounted on the surface ofwork table or freely slidable so as to be extensible out of orretractable into the said surfiace depending upon the elastic limit ofthe wire material. That is to say, when the elastic limit issufiiciently high, the pins will not have to be retracted below thetable, but when the elastic limit is insufiicient, since it isimpossible to obtain a comb with the teeth closely adjacent and Parallelfor a definite length of the comb, the pins are required to beretracted.

. For a more completeunders-t-anding or this invention reference may behad to the following description and accompanying drawings, of whichFIGS. 1 to 4 show various hair combs manufactured by the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 shows a raw material wire to be used in this invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the machine of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an elevation view of the shaping pin and shows a flange onsaid shaping pin.

FIG. 8 is a view of a practical embodiment of an ap paratus according tothe invention in which the work table is built in a cylindrical form.

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of FIG. 8 as viewed from the direction of thearrow A.

FIG. 10 is a side elevation of the inside of the work table of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a side elevation of FIG. 8 as viewed from the direction ofthe arrow B.

FIG. 12 is a plan of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a side elevation of FIG. 11 as viewed from the direction ofthe arrow A.

FIG. 14 is a view on an enlarged scale of a part of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a side view of the part of the feed mechanism of the rawmaterial wire for an apparatus with a cylindrical work table.

FIG. 16 is a side elevation of the mechanism for shaping the rawmaterial wire in the form as shown in FIG. 5

FIG. 17 is a plan of FIG. 16.

Referring in detail to the drawings, 27 indicates the heads of the combteeth and 23 is the feet of the comb teeth. 29 is the intermediate partsbetween said heads and feet. A raw material wire 30 (see FIG. 5) isformed into the various combs shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 by the operation ofthis invention.

FIG. 6 shows an example of an embodiment of this invention in which aflat work table is used. In this case, on both sides of the fiat worktable 1, a fiat foot shaping pincer supporting member in the form of aboard 2 and a head shaping pincer supporting member in the form of aboard 3 are arranged in close proximity to the said table. The worktable 1 and the boards 2 and 3 are relatively movable in the directionof their lengths, that is either the work table 1 is advanced in thedirection of its length, or the foot shaping board 2 land the headshaping board 3 are both made to advance and return in the direction oftheir length. On the work table 1, the shaping pins 4, 4, and thesupporting pins 5, 5, are arranged in the longitudinal direction with anadequate space between the pins and they are also mounted that they canfreely extend out of or retract into the table, or be fixed relative tothe table. When they' are so designed that they can freely extend out ofor retract into the table, they are engaged with a cam and a thrustlever (not shown), and the movement is produced by making the cam workat the proper time interval so as to cause the shaping pins and thesupporting pins to extend and retract. On the surface of the Work table,the raw material wire 30 is wound around the shaping and supporting pinsas shown in FIG. 6. On foot shaping board 2 and the head shaping board3, the shaping pincers 7, 8, 9, 10 are mounted and spaced from eachother. These shaping pincers are almost identical in their construction.These pincers are supported on the supports 31 so that they arerelatively movable transversely of said work table 1, that is theyadvance and retract toward and away from the work table. In addition thetip ends of the pincers are activated so as to be normally kept open,and be closed by the action of the pinching devices 15,

15, which act on the sides of pincers 71ti at the proper time. At theback end of the shaping pincers, pincer actuating devices such as theearns 11, 12-, 13, 14 are provided. By the moveenint of these actuatingdevices, the shaping pincers are pushed forwards onto the work table,and then caused to retract. The shaping pin 4 and the supporting pinsare made to retract below the surface of the work table in the laststage of the process, and thereafter, the head shaping pins 6 are moved,for example from above table 1, into the position of withdrawn pin 4 toshape the wire previously shaped by shaping pins 4 into an oval. Thehead shaping pin 6 is positioned inside the shaping pincers 8, so as toshape the head 27. By this head shaping pin 6 the head of the steel wiretooth already shaped into a circle by the preceding process is shapedinto an oval equal to the shape of circumference of the head shaping pin6 by applying a pinching pressure of the shaping pincers 8 around thehead shaping pin 6 to which the steel wire is already wound. Thus thehead 27 of the comb is formed as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. Then a pair oflegs 20 of a fork cause the legs to move together so as to be closelyspaced. By this movement the intervals between the legs of the zigzagwire are drawn together, and after the completion of the shapingprocess, the shaping and the supporting pins are retracted below thesurface of work table 1, and due to the elasticity of the steel wire,the comb shrinks lengthwise by itself.

In this embodiment of the invention, the operation of which will now bedescribed, the work table 1 advances in the direction of the arrow,whereas foot shaping board 2 and head shaping board 3 remain stationary.

The Zigzag-shaped raw material wire 30 is wound around the shaping pins4 which extend above the surface of work table 1, while the supportingpins 5 are positioned between two legs of the raw material wire 30 whichis already bent. As work table 1 advances, the first shaping pincers 7comes forwards (the drawing shows the state in which the pincers is inan advanced position), and pinches the shaping pins 4, around which theraw material wire 3t, is already wound, imparting a strong pressurethereupon, whereby the wire 30 is formed into a circular head. Thesecond shaping pincers 9 on the foot shaping board 2 also advances inthe same manner and pinches the wire 30 where it is supported bysupporting pins 5, whereby a foot for a comb is partially formed. As thework table 1 further advances, the foot having a finished shape isformed by the third shaping pincers 10, and then the fourth shapingpincers 8 which can be designed to close its tip in the same manner asthe first, second and third shaping pincers 7, 9, 10, instead of beingas shown, advances on the work table 1 so as to apply a strong pressureto the wire already formed into a circle around the head shaping pin 6which extends above the surface of work table 1 at the same position ofthe shaping pin 4 after retraction of said pin 4. Then, by the action ofthe legs 20 two adjacent wires of the comb are drawn together to reducethe interval between the legs of the comb, and then the pins 6 and thesupporting pins 5 are retracted below the surface of the work table 1,and due to the elasticity of the steel wire itself, the comb shrinks byitself, whereby a completed comb is produced. The shaping pin 4 may beshaped in a pointed cone, or as shown in FIG. 7, the neck 4b may 'beprovided in the part where the Wire touches, and with a taper 4c at theend part.

In FIGS. 8 and 15, another embodiment of the present invention is shown.These drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention in which thework table 1, the head shaping board 3 and the foot shaping board 2 arearranged in the shape of a drum. Through the drum in which the headshaping board 3, the foot shaping board 2 and the work table 1 areshaped is inserted a driving shaft 33 which is connected by ratchet 34ato a driving means (not shown), so that the work table 1 is drivenintermittently. Around the circumference of the work table 1, theshaping pins 4 and the supporting pins 5 are mounted so as to extendradially towards the drum center in such a manner that they can freelyextend out of and retract below the surface of work table 1. In order tosupport these shaping pins 4 and the supporting pins 5, the cam 14 isprovided inside the drum. The cam 14 is provided with a high surface 14aso as to support the shaping pins 4 and the supporting pins 5 in anextended position, and a low surface 14b to support the shaping pins 4and the supporting pins 5 in a retracted position. On the driving shaft33, the cam 34b is fixed. The cam 34b thrusts the pushing lever 35 ateach movement of the ratchet 34a, and causes the shaping pins 4 and thesupporting pins 5 to protrude from the surface of work table 1. Theshaping pins 4 and the supporting pins 5 are provided with the flanges4a, so that these pins can remain stationary in their extended orretracted positions. The lower end of the shaping pins 4 and thesupporting pins 5 as pushed up by the thrust lever 35, are supported bythe high surface 14a of the cam 14 in a protruded position (at thistime, the shaping pins 4 and the supporting pins 5 are in a state asshown in the part marked X of FIG. 10). After the pins 4, 5 advancewhile being supported by the high surface 14a, and go past the highsurface 14a, the shaping pins 4 and the supporting pins 5 are pusheddown by the plate 26, until the lower ends of said pins touch the lowsurface 14b of the cam 14. At this time, the shaping pins 4 and thesupporting pins 5 are in a position as shown by the remainder of FIG.10. The shaping pincers 7, 9, 10 each have a slide roller 11a on the endthereof as shown in FIG. 8 and are supported on the fulcrum 36. The tipsof the pincers 7, 9, 10 are held in an open position by the action ofthe spring 40. The pushing devices 11 are mounted on the reciprocatingrods 37, 38. The reciprocating rods 37, 38 have pins thereon fitted intothe cam grooves 38a cut on driving shaft 33. By the said reciproeatingmotion of the reciprocating rods 37, 38, the pushing devices 11 areadvanced and spread the slide rollers 11a of shaping pincers 7, 9, 10 soas to close their tips, and the tips of the pincers pinch the wire woundaround the shaping and supporting pins 4, 5. The pushing devices areretracted by spring 39 between the machine frame M and pushing devices11 (FIG. 9) which are stronger than the spring 40b supporting lever 23is fitted so as to swing vertically with respect to table 1 around theshaft 2 1. The end of lever 23 is lowered by the reciprocating rod 38 atthe proper time and the thrust pin 41 provided at the end of lever 23causes the supporting pin 5 to sink, so as to release the hold on thefoot of comb. At the same time, the thrust pin 6 fitted on the top endof lever 23 also moves down, and said thrust pin 6 pushes the shapingpins 4 down (see FIG. 11). Simultaneously, the end So of rod 8 is pushedby the reciprocating rod 38, by which action the top of rod 8 penetratesinto the space between two legs 20 of the fork, whereby the two heads ofthe comb held in the legs 20 are caused to drop (see FIGS. 11, l3, 14).The legs 20 come down in concert with the thrust pins 41 and 6 so as topinch the two heads of the comb for narrowing the interval between thecomb teeth in the same manner as legs 20 in FIG. 6. By theabove-mentioned movements a comb of the desired form is completed. FIG.10 shows the apparatus of FIG. 8 from the end, and illustrates the wholeprocess from the feeding of the raw material wire 30 into the machine ofthe present invention of the completion of a comb. The raw material wire30 passes through the clearance 65 between the wire guide 25 and thework table 1, and reaches the lower edge of the plate 26 diagonallymounted above the drum, where the shaping pins 4 and the supporting pins5 are pushed down, and at the position 40, the comb is completed. Otherparts of the system and their actions are entirely similar to thoseshown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 8. FIG. 15 shows the means for feeding the rawmaterial wire 30, and corresponds to the part marked with the arrow D onthe left side of FIG. 10. Rotation of the cam 48 fitted on the shaft 33causes the lever 49 fixed on the shaft 50 to swing, and by the swingingmovement of this lever 49, the claw 46 urged toward the drum by thespring 47 is reciprocated to feed the material wire '30 to the lowersurface of wire guide 25 for one pitch of the wire for eachreciprocation. Guide 45 feeds the material wire 30 in its correctposition. It consists of a flat-shaped casing. In front of this guide45, the apparatus which is to shape the steel wire into a zigzag form-(namely the material wire 30) is installed; As illustrated in FIGS. 16and 17, the end of the straight wire material 55 is wound around a pin56 of revolving disk 52. (FIG. 16 shows the case of 5 pins studded onrevolving disk 52.) As the operating lever 57 is moved to a verticalposition and returned by the drive therefor (not shown), the claws 58aand 581) on the lever 57 cause the revolving disks 52, 5-3 toalternately turn clockwise and counterclockwise respectively aroundshafts 62 and 63. As the operating lever 57 is lifted upwards and theclaw 58a pushes on one of five teeth 72 on the revolving disk 52, theball 60 which was engaged in a recess 59 on the revolving disk 52 by theaction of spring 61 moves along in the shallow groove 59a cut in therevolving disk 52 while the revolving disk 52 is rotating and then, theball 60 is again pressed by the spring 61 into another recess 59 whenthe revolving disk 52 has rotated 72 degrees and the next recess 59*coincides with the position of said ball 60. The ball 60 thus keeps therevolving disk 52 stationary under the pressure of the spring 61. Onepin 56 on the revolving disk 52 moves 72 degrees and reaches theposition of the center shaft 63 of the other revolving disk 53, duringeach movement of disk 52. Next, when the operating lever 57 is lowered,the claw 58b pushes on one of five teeth 73 on the revolving disk 53 andclaw 58a slides along the edge of disk 52 to retreat until the said claw58a drops behind one of the teeth 72. A ball 60 and spring 61 act ondisk 53 in the same manner as on the revolving disk 52, and make therevolving disk 53 stop, after said revolving disk 53 turns 72 degrees.Accordingly, one of the five bending pins 64 on the disk 53 movestogether with the steel wire 55, until it reaches the positioncorresponding to the center 62 of the revolving disk 52. Thus every pinadvances in sequence and at the position 62, the first bend of metalwire is completed by the pins on revolving disk 53. In this manner, bythe alternate revolution of both revolving disks 52 and 53, thesucceeding pins on both disks 52 and 53 form the left and right bends insuccession. In this manner, by Working the operating lever 57alternately upwards and downwards in succession, the revolving disks 52and 53 revolve alternately, and the pins on both revolving disks formright and left bends at the centers 62 and 63. Thus the bent wirematerial 30 is sent onwards swinging to the right (FIG. 16) when the pinof the revolving disk 52 acts on wire 55 and to the left when the pin ofthe revolving disk 53 works on the wire. As abovementioned, in the saidraw material shaping mechanism, two revolving disks with equal radiusare mounted so that their centers are positioned on the circumference ofthe other revolving disk, leaving a clearance between two revolvingdisks for the wire to pass, and the pins for bending movement arepositioned at equal intervals on the opposing faces of both disks,whereby they alternately move towards the center of the other revolvingdisks. Therefore, the bending pin always moves along the circumferenceof the radius of the curvature at which the pins are positioned, andbends are theoretically made at equal intervals. Thus, by continuouslyrotating both revolving disks alternately, respective pins advancethrough the required angle (for instance, 72 degrees) each time, wherebythe straight steel wire material is bent and shaped, and is continuouslysent out in the required shape of a zigzag to the device forcomb-shaping.

This invention has, thus, the advantage of producing type of combs on anindustrial scale at a low cost, eliminating the need of manual labor.

I claim: I

1. A machine for manufacturing hair combs from metal wire, comprising apair of parallel circular discs mounted for rotation around theirrespective centers and each having a plurality of pins equidistantlyspaced around the respective discs and projecting toward the other disc,the center of one disc being offset from the'center of the other adistance equal to the radial distance of said pins from the centers ofsaid discs, means for intermittently driving said discs for rotatingsaid discs through a part of a rotation equal to the spacing of saidpins around said discs and with a pin on one disc always beingpositioned opposite the center of the other disc at the end of therotation, whereby wire fed between the discs and engaged by said pinswill be bent into a zigzag shape having a series of oval-shaped headsand feet, -a work table having a plurality of shaping and supportingpins therealong for receiving the zigzag wire from between said discs, ahead shaping pincer supporting member on one side of said table havingat least one pair of head shaping pincers thereon for engagement aroundthe pins on said table which are closer to the head shaping pincersupporting member, a foot shaping pincer supporting member on the otherside of said table having at least one pair of foot shaping pincersthereon for engagement around the pins on said table which are closer tothe foot shaping pincer supporting member, at least said shaping pincersand said table being relatively movable transversely of the direction inwhich the pins extend along said table, said shaping pincer supportingmembers having means thereon engaging with said pair of pincers forclosing said pincers around the pins when relative transverse movementof the shaping pincers and said table toward each other takes place,said table and said shaping pincer supporting members also beingrelatively movable in the direction in which the pins extend along saidtable for causing pairs of pincers to act on successive bends of wire,means engageable with the wire for closing the interval between pitchesof the wire, and means associated with said table for removing wire fromsaid pins after the pincers have shaped the wire.

2. A machine for forming a bent wire hair comb from a wire bent into azigzag shape having a series of ovalshaped heads and (feet, comprising awork table having a plurality of shaping and supporting pins therealongfor receiving a zigzag wire therearound, a head shaping pincersupporting member on one side of said table having at least one pair ofhead shaping pincers thereon for engagement around the pins on saidtable which are closer to the head shaping pincer supporting member, afoot shaping pincer supporting member on the other side of said tablehaving at least one pair of foot shaping pincers thereon for engagementaround the pins on said table which are closer to the foot shapingpincer supporting member, at least, said shaping pincers and said tablebeing relatively movable transversely of the direction in which the pinsextend along said table, said shaping pincer supporting members havingmeans thereon engaging with said pair of pincers for closing saidpincers around the pins when relative transverse movement of the shapingpincers and said table toward each other takes place, said table andsaid shaping pincer supporting members also being relatively movable inthe direction in which the pins extend along said table for causingpairs of pincers to act on successive bends of wire, means engageablewith the wire for closing the interval between pitches of the wire, andmeans associated with said table for removing wire from said pins afterthe pincers have shaped the wire.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 2 in which said shaping pincersupporting members are movable only transversely toward and away fromsaid work table, and said work table is movable only longitudinally ofits length betweensaid shaping pincer supporting members.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 3 in which said table and shapingpincer supporting members are fiat.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 3 in which said table and shapingpincer supporting members are bent in the direction of their length intocylindrical drums, said work table being rotatable for producinglongitudinal movement thereof relative to said shaping pincer supportingmembers, .and said shaping pincer supporting members being movableaxially ofsaid drums to produce movement toward and away from the worktable.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSSundback May 10, 1932 Jacobs Oct. 26, 1937 Jacobs Aug. 15, 1939 Bank eta1 Oct. 12, 1943

2. A MACHINE FOR FORMING A BENT WORE HAIR COMB FROM A WIRE BENT INTO AZIGZAG SHAPE HAVING A SERIES OF OVALSHAPED HEADS AND FEET, COMPRISING AWORK TABLE HAVING A PLURALITY OF SHAPING AND SUPPORTING PINS THEREALONGFOR RECEIVING A ZIGZAG WIRE THEREAROUND, A HEAD SHAPING PINCERSUPPORTING MEMBER ON ONE SIDE OF SAID TABLE HAVING AT LEAST ONE PAIR OFHEAD SHAPING PINCERS THEREON FOR ENGAGEMENT AROUND THE PINS ON SAIDTABLE WHICH ARE CLOSER TO THE HEAD SHAPING PINCER SUPPORTING MEMBER, AFOOT SHAPING PINCER SUPPORTING MEMBER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SAID TABLEHAVING AT LEAST ONE PAIR OF FOOT SHAPING PINCERS THEREON FOR ENGAGEMENTAROUND THE PINS ON SAID TABLE WHICH ARE CLOSER TO THE FOOT SHAPINGPINCER SUPPORTING MEMBER, AT LEAST, SAID SHAPING PINCERS AND SAID TABLEBEING RELATIVELY MOVABLE TRANSVERSELY OF THE DIRECTION IN WHICH THE PINSEXTEND ALONG SAID TABLE, SAID SHAPING PINCER SUPPORTING MEMBERS HAVINGMEANS THEREON ENGAGING WITH SAID PAIR OF PINCERS FOR CLOSING SAIDPINCERS AROUND THE PINS WHEN RELATIVE TRANSVERSE MOVEMENT OF THE SHAPINGPINCERS AND SAID TABLE TOWARD EACH OTHER TAKES PLACE, SAID TABLE ANDSAID SHAPING PINCER SUPPORTING MEMBERS ALSO BEING RELATIVELY MOVABLE INTHE DIRECTION IN WHICH THE PINS EXTEND ALONG SAID TABLE FOR CAUSINGPAIRS OF PINCERS TO ACT ON SUCCESSIVE BENDS OF WIRE, MEANS ENGAGEABLEWITH THE WIRE FOR CLOSING THE INTERVAL BETWEEN PITCHES OF THE WIRE, ANDMEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID TABLE FOR REMOVING WIRE FROM SAID PINS AFTERTHE PINCERS HAVE SHAPED THE WIRE.